Pigments are the most costly ingredient in ink, typically accounting for nearly half of the total raw material cost. As such, they are scrutinized when it comes to purchasing, with ink companies generally looking to keep prices as low as possible, whether it is through tough negotiations or the use of offshore sources.

As a result, pigment prices have remained relatively low in recent years. During the past year, prices began to rise, primarily due to increasing raw material costs faced by pigment makers.

While these price increases don’t cover the full impact of the higher raw material costs, it was a key step to restoring some sense of fiscal well-being for the industry. So far, 2005 seems to be continuing along the same lines.

Photo courtesy of EMD Chemicals.

The Pigment Industry in 2004
All things considered, the pigment industry had a mixed year in 2004. For the most part, companies reported that their sales were up and price increases were announced, but those increases were predicated on the increased costs of raw materials.

“As to sales, BASF had a good year,” said Ed daPonte, process pigments business manager for BPS Printing Systems LLC. “We were on target for sales, but return on sales was down due to raw material costs. It was a difficult year in that many received price increases for a majority of their raw materials. We saw record high levels for benzene prices which drove many of the basic raw material prices to historic highs. Along with the raw material price increases, we also saw increases in utility costs, which drove up the overall manufacturing costs.”

Sun Chemical Performance Pigments reported another solid year in 2004, according to Maurice Carruthers, general manager and vice president of merchant ink business unit at Sun Chemical Performance Pigments.

“Unfortunately, the entire ink and pigments markets are facing rising raw material costs and shortages of certain materials,” he said. “Many companies, including Sun Chemical Performance Pigments, have been forced to pass these increases along to their customers in the form of price increases.”

“We had in 2004 an outstanding volume growth, whereas prices were still deteriorating, additionally hit by increasing raw material, energy and freight costs,” said Bernhard Ehrenreich, who is the head of marketing, printing business for Clariant GmbH.

Other pigment manufacturers reported strong years.

“CDR had a good year in 2004,” said Tom Ashe, vice president of marketing and sales for CDR Pigments & Dispersions. “CDR continued to grow our business in all market segments. We have also increased our international sales.”

“Apollo saw a strong recovery in 2004, particularly in the second half,” said Larry Bykerk, vice president of sales at Apollo Colors. “The fourth quarter was a good one for most of our customers. Those who are forward thinking are now looking at what they can do to provide their printing customers with value-added packages that stress performance and total cost of print as opposed to supplying on the basis of lowest set price for ink.”

“Our 2004 business was up over 2003 volumes,” said David Grabacki, president of Dynamic Color Systems. “Considering the fact that we are only three years in manufacture, we consider ourselves very fortunate.”

“Micro Inks recorded remarkable growth in 2004,” said Coumara Radja, general manager – international business and corporate communications for Micro Inks. “We experienced great demand from the ink manufacturers for supply of flush pigments.”

Other companies felt that the pigment industry still has a long way to go before it can regain healthy margins.

“2004 was a difficult year for both Magruder and I believe our industry,” said Evan Weissglass, president of operations for Magruder Color. “During the second half we began to see a slow and increasingly steady overall growth in demand for organic pigments, in both North America and Europe, but it was not a stellar year.”

“It was a flat year for General Press and I think the industry,” said Andy Grabacki, vice president of sales for General Press Colors. “With it being a flat year, I think that it is the status quo of pounds being up and dollars down.”

“There still remain areas in which performance differentiation has a higher value both in the ink and in the pigment, and there the price levels remain relatively stable, as long as the performance margin is maintained,” said Mr. Bridge. “In some cases we have been forced to increase prices because of the extra costs coming through to us, and this was particularly the case in acrylic chemistries, where monomer prices have increased dramatically.”

One key is that ink manufacturers are looking to their suppliers to help identify ways to become more efficient.

“We are seeing more and more customers working with us to improve our processes on sourcing and distribution services for a range of imported products, where timely delivery and quality standards need to be tightly managed,” Mr. Weissglass said. “Within our more traditional manufacturing services, we are seeing strong demand for quick turn manufacturing. Overall, the trend we see is that our global supply chain management practices are helping us work more closely with customers to cut costs and improve the value of services we can provide them with.”

That loss of profitability for the pigment industry in general has led to consolidation, companies exiting the business or cutting back on R&D.

“Despite some improvement in the economic environment our industry remains one that is largely fragmented,” Mr. Weissglass said. “A large amount of manufacturing overcapacity exists and competitors, especially importers intent on buying domestic market share, seem to be willing to sell product at unrealistically low prices. We fully expect that the current environment, which is unsustainable, will fuel the acceleration of industry consolidation already underway.”

“One new challenge facing the ink industry right now is the diminishing ranks of legitimate pigment suppliers,” said Frank Lavieri, vice president of sales and marketing at Lansco Colors. “Over the last five years, important suppliers to the industry, for example Fabricolor, have exited the business. Most other ink pigment manufacturers have been significantly weakened over this same period and cut back operations in some way. The reliable supply of consistent pigment raw materials is threatened by these changes.”

“Our integrated manufacturing facilities that manufacture the critical raw materials like pigments, resins, varnishes and additives play a strategic role in containing the cost element in the whole supply chain, so most of the supply and cost concerns experienced by other manufacturers do not impact us,” Mr. Radja said.

Environment Canada Action Modifies HCB Ruling

The Color Pigments Manufacturers Association (CPMA) recently announced that Environment Canada had made a change in its proposed regulation that currently restricts import or manufacture of products containing more than 20 parts per billion (20 ppb) of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Representatives of the CPMA Phthalocyanine Pigments Committee and Colour Pigments Canadian Committee met with Environment Canada officials in January, which prompted them to take action that would permit the continued manufacture and use of products containing HCB that were not identified in an earlier consultation process. This would mean that pigments that might contain HCB in excess of 20 ppb, and inks, paints, plastics and other products manufactured from those pigments which also might contain HCB in excess of 20 ppb, would continue to flow in commerce in Canada.
At a meeting on Feb. 4, the agency advised that pigments containing more than 20 ppb HCB and products containing such pigments may be imported into Canada and sold in commerce. Environment Canada will not issue a written statement regarding enforcement of the existing regulation. “CPMA is pleased that its efforts to date concerning this matter have been so successful in finding a short-term solution, and we are continuing to work with Environment Canada to find a long-term solution to this situation,” said Lawrence Robinson, CPMA president.

Pricing and Supply are Key Concerns for Pigment Manufacturers

For the last few years, pigment manufacturers have had to keep their prices low, as pressure from ink manufacturers, combined with increasing imports, have combined to keep pricing down. During the past year, raw material prices have skyrocketed worldwide, and pigment prices finally were driven upward.

“Due to rising raw material prices, increasing energy costs and shortages on certain materials, the price of pigments has started to increase,” said Maurice Carruthers, general manager and vice president of merchant ink business unit at Sun Chemical Performance Pigments. “We have unfortunately had to pass these increases along to our customers. Although we continue to employ Six Sigma and other productivity initiatives to improve our manufacturing capabilities and efficiencies and to mitigate the effect on our customers, we simply cannot absorb all of the increases internally.”

“Although we see few if any, supply concerns, it is easy to draw the parallel between the price of crude oil and that of pigment intermediates,” said Dave Grabacki, president of Dynamic Color Systems. “Costs of these pigment intermediates have increased and have pushed up the costs of pigment raw materials to all global pigment producers. Based on these intermediates’ increase, we have seen pigment prices rise. What a curious observation seems to be is that the magnitude of the increases coming from offshore sources seems to be different than those of domestic pigment producers.”

“All our pigment prices have gone up and we have had no choice but to increase our prices,” said Andy Grabacki, vice president of sales for General Press Colors. “We’ll see if the increases last through 2005. I don’t see how they can’t.”

“Lansco Colors responded to the dramatic increase in raw material, transportation and other costs during the second half of 2004 by implementing a general price increase, albeit modest, for the first time in memory,” said Frank Lavieri, vice president of sales and marketing at Lansco Colors.

The cost of metallic pigments has also increased.

“The cost of copper has more than doubled over the past two years, and aluminum has increased more than 70 percent,” said Nick Rink, product manager at MD-Both. “These factors make it extremely difficult to hold stable pigment prices in the market, and so we are seeing them starting to rise.”

Tom Ashe, vice president of marketing and sales for CDR Pigments & Dispersions, said that price increases aren’t just impacting raw materials.

For pigment manufacturers, coming up with new approaches has become even more of a necessity.

“Raw material and energy costs have had a tremendous negative impact on the entire pigment industry, which has had limited flexibility in being able to pass on these increased costs of doing business,” said Evan Weissglass, president of operations for Magruder Color. “Prices continue to increase and some key raw materials are beginning to get tight. We’ve really had to think out of the box about our core processes, and re-designed a number of them, cutting costs wherever possible to remain competitive.”

“Although pigment pricing is holding up much better today than it was a year ago, we are continuing to aggressively look for new ways to lower costs and provide higher service levels,” Mr. Weissglass added.

While these increases in prices concern ink manufacturers, the reality is that these price increases don’t cover the total increases that pigment manufactures are facing.

Larry Bykerk, vice president of sales at Apollo Colors, said his company notified customers of the raw material increases Apollo Colors had absorbed in 2004. “This was done in order to give these ink companies an opportunity to lay the groundwork with printers that costs were heading up after years of erosion,” Mr. Bykerk said. “While we increased our prices 4 percent to 6 percent late in 2004, we have experienced raw material increases of roughly twice that amount. We continue to look for productivity gains to offset the shortfall. Those in charge of procurement at Apollo work with multiple sources to ensure our supply stream is at optimal pricing.”

Still, overseas competition is impacting the costs of pigments, although there are supply issues.

“The pricing of pigments in publication inks and low-end water-based inks is now dominated by Chinese offers, even if the business is actually made by a ‘traditional’ supplier,” said Christopher Bridge, regional marketing manager Americas, imaging & inks business line, coating effects business at Ciba Specialty Chemicals. “The Chinese price levels are supported by export rebates and by a currency that is kept artificially low, and for many smaller producers by non-GAAP accounting. In fact, raw material prices, energy and transportation costs have increased in China, and these increases are starting to come through. However, some local Chinese pigment producers have said that they will only increase export prices, and keep prices in China low.”

“Clariant was hit by increasing raw material costs on one hand,” said Bernhard Ehrenreich, head of marketing, printing business for Clariant GmbH. “On the other hand, it became obvious that ink producers focus more on traditional pigment producers due to some supply problems of non-traditional producers, mainly from China. Clariant increased pigment prices between 3 percent and 10 percent, dependent on product group and respective raw material base.”

Recent Trends
During the past year, pigment companies observed a wide variety of areas of growth from their ink customers.

“Surprisingly, the publication ink area was growing much more than anticipated, whereas the packaging and special ink areas were behind expectations,” Mr. Ehrenreich said. “Non-impact technologies are increasingly cannibalizing the screen ink (ink jet) and sheetfed ink (toner) areas.”

“In packaging inks, there is still scope for performance differentiation, and the moves to higher pigmentation, inks for fine line screens and new packaging films create new demands on pigments,” said Mr. Bridge. “Specialist packaging applications are now a focus, for example in applying various branding and security technologies. The growth of UV inks, particularly flexo inks, and especially UV-curing ink jet inks, has also created demands for rheology enhancements in the pigment offer. Of course the greatest growth has been in digital printing, and so far particularly in jet inks, though this is from a small base. This area has created new demands for high performance pigments in particular, and we see now this area splitting into specialist applications, with photo-realistic applications now becoming clearly differentiated from various ‘industrial’ applications.”

Interest in flush colors seems to be growing.

“Many ink manufacturers around the world have started realizing the fact that manufacturing inks through flush instead of dry pigment route can give them not only cost advantage but also the quality advantage to compete in the market,” said Mr. Radja, who added that Micro Inks has introduced new flushes to the market.

“2004 was a very positive year with regard to metallic inks,” said Elise Balsamo, marketing manager, MD-Both Industries. “For a while, it seemed that metallic inks were losing favor in an atmosphere of cost-cutting and uncertainty, but that period of time has definitely passed. Everyone is very interested in hitting the ground running with the new kinds of effects that metallic inks can offer. There seemed to be a renewed surge in inquiries and requests regarding new and exciting metallic options for printed labels, packaging and brochures. This level of excitement and competitiveness can be seen in the high amount of interest we have seen for MetalFX.”

Wes Lucas Among Industry Leaders Speaking at CPMA Conference

Wes Lucas

Wes Lucas, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Sun Chemical Corporation, is among an impressive line-up of speakers at the 2005 CPMA International Color Pigments Conference, Innovation in Color Technology, which will be held April 20-22, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore at the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD.

The Color Pigments Manufacturers Association, Inc. (CPMA) in association with Rodman Publications, publishers of Coatings World, Ink World and Happi magazines, is presenting the two and one half-day conference.

Expectations for The Coming Year
For the most part, pigment manufacturers are optimistic about the upcoming year.

“Looking toward 2005, Sun Chemical Performance Pigments is gearing up for another year of positive growth,” Mr. Carruthers said. “We will continue to promote and develop new products, while simultaneously supporting our existing line. With Performance Pigments’ added emphasis on specialty markets, the company is working toward a prosperous new year.”

“We are very optimistic about 2005,” Mr. Bykerk said. “The economy under President Bush will continue to prosper and we see print advertising continuing to improve.”

“Our expectations for 2005 are quite positive, supported by a number of new developments, expanded activities in Asia and North America and stable market conditions,” Mr. Ehrenreich said.

“We are cautiously optimistic that during the next 12 months we will see a continuation of the slow and steady growth we are experiencing in North America, Europe and the other markets we serve,” Mr. Weissglass said.

“We are very excited about 2005,” Mr. Ashe said. “We always look forward to delivering more customer satisfaction and being a part of our customers’ success.”

Mr. Radja forecasted growth worldwide for the industry.

“The growth for 2005 can be in the range of 7 percent to 10 percent in the global pigment industry due to the rising demand in the global packaging industry,” Mr. Radja said. “Even the commercial printing segment is growing in the developing countries due to the rise in literacy rate and newspaper industry catering to various demographic segments.”

There are still concerns over raw material pricing.

“I fully expect that there may be additional price increases in some raw material sectors,” Mr. daPonte said. “I expect that ink sales will be on par with 2005, which should also be true for raw material producers.”

Mr. Bridge said he expected to see continued improvement in the global economy, with continued recovery of the ink industry sales.

“The main issues to be managed are the rise of price of many raw materials for pigments and additives, and the effects of changes in exchange rates,” Mr. Bridge said. “Growth is expected to be strong in packaging, and particularly in special areas such as ink jet, UV inks, branding and security, in which we shall participate with a number of new products already launched, but also coming forward through our innovation pipeline.”

Ultimately for pigment and ink manufacturers alike, success comes down to providing value.

“We are working hard to differentiate ourselves in the organic pigments arena,” Mr. Weissglass said. “By becoming much more of a value-added service provider than ever before, together with strong focus on customers’ needs and global supply chain management, we hope to provide our customers with the best possible value at highly competitive prices.”

The changes in the marketplace may ultimately be a sign of the times.

“2004 may have been a pivotal year for the ink industry as it might have marked an end to an era of steadily declining prices,” said Mr. Lavieri. “Prices for specialty chemical raw materials have declined steadily over the last 10 years due to many factors, including a steady reduction of import duty rates. Duty rates have now finished declining and increased costs for energy, transportation and health insurance among others are forcing suppliers to pass increases along to customers. Long term, this will be good for the ink industry, even though 2004 may have been difficult.”

There are many challenges ahead for pigment companies. For U.S. pigment manufacturers, the growth of the pigment and printing industries in the Asia-Pacific region will be a major challenge to meet.

“For U.S. producers, continued low cost suppliers from offshore producers continue to add pressure to prices in NAFTA,” Mr. daPonte said. “I also see that some printers are sending print jobs offshore, which will shift some of the suppliers to the offshore markets. This will reduce the demand for U.S.-produced products.”

“Looking to 2005 and beyond, I think the pigment and ink industries will continue to face pressure from foreign markets, especially as offshore imports continue to rise,” Mr. Carruthers said.

“I think the number one challenge is foreign products at a cheap price,” Andy Grabacki said. “Secondly is pricing. When is the industry going to stop giving it away? Thirdly, our operating costs such as insurance, energy and containers keep going up. We need to be more efficient and/or creative in order to be more profitable.”

That loss of profitability for the pigment industry in general has led to consolidation, companies leaving the business or cutting back on R&D.

“Despite some improvement in the economic environment our industry remains one that is largely fragmented,” Mr. Weissglass said. “A large amount of manufacturing overcapacity exists and competitors, especially importers intent on buying domestic market share, seem to be willing to sell product at unrealistically low prices. We fully expect that the current environment, which is unsustainable, will fuel the acceleration of industry consolidation already underway.”

“One new challenge facing the ink industry right now is the diminishing ranks of legitimate pigment suppliers,” Mr. Lavieri said. “Over the last five years, important suppliers to the industry, for example Fabricolor, have exited the business. Most other ink pigment manufacturers have been significantly weakened over this same period and cut back operations in some way. The reliable supply of consistent pigment raw materials is threatened by these changes.”

“The most difficult challenge is to meet the expectations of ink makers for product improvements, and at the same time meet their needs for low prices,” Mr. Bridge said. “We have to ensure that costs are controlled, and that cash is generated to develop the new products.”

“With the short staffing our customers face, we need to do our best to support their development efforts on an effective and timely basis,” said David Grabacki. “We have put together a team of the excellent people to help us remain nimble yet effective in anticipating the needs that the market places on our customers.”

“Our biggest challenge involves attracting the best and the brightest young people to our industry,” Mr. Bykerk said. “Without them, we will have a very difficult time competing with the emerging Asian producers.”

Regulatory issues also remain a serious concern., particularly in Europe.

“ESHA-regulations, especially in Europe (e.g. REACH), will influence the industry and the respective product requirements in the coming years beside ongoing globalization, customer concentration and commoditization of the pigment range,” Mr. Ehrenreich said.

Mr. Ashe believes these challenges will all be met.

“The challenges have not changed much in the recent years,” Mr. Ashe said. “CDR meets and beats these challenges by making sure we are producing with the lowest cost structure and ensuring our products are consistent and delivered on time. This is a mature industry and there isn’t any one thing you can do 100 percent better, but you can do 100 things 1 percent better and that can add up to be the difference.”

Responding to Challenges
Despite margins being reduced, pigment companies are putting major resources into R&D and manufacturing efficiencies.

“We work closely with our technical support labs in the UK and Germany to continuously strive for innovative metallic ink and pigment products or product enhancements to meet the current and upcoming demands of the industry,” Ms. Balsamo said.

“Sun Chemical Performance Pigments is constantly upgrading its current product line, extending its color capabilities and adding additional innovations to provide Solutions, Tailor-made for its customers,” Mr. Carruthers said. “We continue to employ Six Sigma and other productivity tools to improve the efficiency and production of our manufacturing plants and reduce our costs. We are continuing to compete with the importers to remain a global leader in pigment manufacturing.”

“We are looking at every aspect of our business in order to be competitive and profitable,” Andy Grabacki said. “Whether it is manufacturing, purchasing, administrative or in sales, we are evaluating and reevaluating. We are looking for ways to improve.”

“Tom Rogers has put together a management team that is ready to guide the company through at least the next decade,” Mr. Bykerk said.

“We have a very strong cash focus, and at the same time a program‚ ‘Managing for Growth,’ in which all the considerable capabilities of the company are focused into key technology growth areas, but also into key projects to ensure future competitiveness,” Mr. Bridge said “This program will bring new pigment forms forward, and take us into new application areas such as packaging security. We are also placing more of our investment in Asian countries, particularly China and India, both to serve the fast growing markets, but also to balance our manufacturing currency portfolio.”

“Clariant created an expert team who concentrates on all future ESHA requirements and its implications,” Mr. Ehrenreich said. “Furthermore Clariant is continuously improving the processes, is globally optimizing the production network as well as the product portfolio and tries to cope with the customer requirements through an effective Key Account Management.”

“We are excited about our new product developments that will generate new opportunities for us as we go forward,” said Dave Grabacki. “As an industry, our customers are still faced with short staffing, tenacious competition, numerous market demands and shorter lead times. This seems to stifle their ability to develop and capture new pieces of business.”

“Lansco Colors is well positioned with our recent acquisition of ICC along with years of experience supplying the industry to provide reliable, cost-effective, quality pigment raw materials to ink manufacturers,” Mr. Lavieri said.

Aquarius Presscake Line Expansion
Comments: After the successful launch of the Dorado High Solids Quickset flush series late in 2003, Apollo Colors turned its attention in 2004 to proprietary flush lines specifically developed with the ink maker to fit their unique requirements. The growth of Apollo Colors has historically been derived from custom flushing. This business segment, once established, is not as vulnerable to price erosion as many general trade product lines.

Apollo Colors also expanded its Aquarius presscake line in 2004. The synergies Apollo Colors developed this year with its sister division, Allegheny Color, has also helped customers in the areas of carbazole violet and phthalo green that Apollo Colors now offers in a variety of flushing vehicles as well as dry and presscake forms.

BASF Alkali Blue 6290Q
Comments: With the separation from BASF, BPS Printing Systems has a renewed focus on the industry. The above products offer improved print characteristics, especially for the sheetfed market. The 6290Q is a green shade alkali blue flush and the 6190U is a red shade alkali blue flush.

Cromophtal Violet GM (blue shade) and Cromophtal Violet GL (yellow shade)
Comments: These are two new high performance violets that show excellent rheology and rheological stability at high pigment loadings, excellent dispersibility, high gloss, excellent transparency and high color strength.

Irgalite Blue NGC
Comments: Irgalite Blue NGC is a new low-viscosity, long-flowing beta phthalocyanine blue (Blue 15:3), developed primarily for use in offset inks in which it allows increased throughput rates and production efficiency.

Hostaperm Red D3G70 (PR254)
Comments:Hostaperm Red D3G70 (PR254) is one of Clariant’s new DPP reds for deco laminates, screen inks and metal deco inks. Clariant started recently the production of new DPP red pigments in its new plant in Frankfurt.

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Several new tailor-made Sandosperse dispersions for water-based systems.

RA-517 (PR.81:3)
Comments: RA-517 (PR.81:3) is a very clean bluish red shade and is used extensively as process magenta for aqueous dispersions. It has excellent water stability at high pigment loading.

BA-145 (PB.1)
Comments: BA-145 (PB.1) is a highly concentrated clean, bright reddish blue that is used in paste, offset and specialty (erasable pen ink). It is also excellent for aqueous dispersions at high pigment loading.

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GA-414 (PG.1) and GA-429 (PG.2)
Comments: PG.1 is a highly concentrated bright bluish green. PG.2 is a yellowish green with high tinctorial strength. These pigments are used in paste and liquid inks where transparency is required.

Rotostar Aqua 3180-62
Comments: Rotostar Aqua 3180-62 silver offers very good opacity and brilliance when printed with 700 lpi, 2.1 bcm anilox rollers. This result is possible through the combination of state-of-the-art formulation and aluminum pigment technology. Print results have shown excellent detail and cleanliness in the screens, in vignettes and in fine type, while also offering very good opacity in the solid areas.

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Rotostar UV 821
Comments: Eckart’s Rotostar UV 821 flexo series is now available in ‘low odor’ formulation. Rotostar UV is a one component, high performance metallic ink system with excellent stability, a fast cure rate and good brilliance. It also delivers good printability and transfer, and is offered in Rich Gold, Pale Gold and Silver shades.

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Prismastar
Comments: Prismastar Rainbow Effect inks were recently developed to provide a unique rainbow effect. These new solvent-based flexo and gravure inks are ideal for label, packaging and security applications, and allow the printer/converter the possibility to produce mild holographic effects using ink, printed in-line.

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Rotovario 560 Series
Comments: The Rotovario 560 Series is a new line of leafing silver-dollar pastes for various solventborne, waterborne and UV ink formulations. Rotovario 560’s combination of surface chemistry and additive technology allow for the highest combination of brilliance and opacity achieved from a conventional metallic flake, and in addition offers excellent leafing stability. These pastes are 100 percent free of residual white spirit/mineral spirit and have a higher pigment content for more formulation flexibility. Currently Eckart offers the pastes in iso-propyl alcohol.

Miraval
Comments: Miraval is a new generation of brilliant glittering pigments. Miraval 5411 Magic White combines dramatic silver-white glitter with a colorful rainbow-like highlight, and is the first EMD pigment based on borosilicate platelets. At less then 1µm, they are extremely thin and have a very smooth surface. With its pure white mass tone color and its minimal light dispersion, Miraval Magic White is highly transparent and opens up immense styling potential. Miraval Magic White is suitable for screen, flexo and offset coating applications, especially in UV inks and coatings for the textile, packaging, toy and electronics industries.

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Iriodin Pearlprint Litho S
Comments: Iriodin Pearlprint Litho S series of pigment preparations contain additives which enable Iriodin effect pigments to be formulated and transferred successfully in offset printing applications, and additional additives were included to provide better storage stability. The new S series can also be used in UV offset ink formulations.

Nitrocellulose, Polyamide and Vinyl Chips
Comments: Magruder Color now offers nitrocellulose, polyamide and vinyl chips. These products are designed to be used in ink formulations applied to substrates such as foils, films and other non-absorbing surfaces.

Flushed color range
Comments: Micro Inks has developed a number of new flushed colors for sheetfed inks. Star is designed for soft workable body with excellent pigment wetting and very good printability. Class is excellent rheological properties with fast setting higher pigment loading. Eco is designed for zero VOC inks with high gloss and fast setting properties. Set is designed to offer fast work and turn properties, recommended for matt coated stock.

For heatset inks, Micro Inks offers Highgloss, a bright and cleaned shade, and Pace, which offers excellent setting with very good gloss and printability. For no-heat web inks, News Flush offers bright and clean colors to no-heat web inks for medium to high speed web offset, and Soya Flush provides bright colors mainly for various type of news printing application.

SunQwik Millennium 2 sheetfed flushes
Comments: Sun Chemical Performance Pigments is committed to understanding customers’ business and creating customized solutions to help meet those needs. In response to recent needs in the sheetfed ink market, the company launched SunQwik Millennium 2 sheetfed flushes. Products in this line span the complete color range and provide high strength, low mist and user friendly viscosity. Their quickset ability is coupled with good gloss and the ability to remain open in formulations, satisfying a demand in the market.